Effect of a magnetic field on molecule-solvent angular momentum transfer

TL;DR

This paper extends the angulon quasiparticle theory to molecules with spin-1/2 in a magnetic field, showing how magnetic control can influence molecule-solvent angular momentum transfer and phonon emission.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework for spin-1/2 molecules in magnetic fields within the angulon model, enabling control of angular momentum exchange and phonon emission.

Findings

Magnetic field alters angular momentum exchange between molecule and solvent.

Resonant phonon emission can be controlled using magnetic fields.

The solvent remains non-magnetic despite the control mechanisms.

Abstract

Recently it was shown that a molecule rotating in a quantum solvent can be described in terms of the `angulon' quasiparticle [Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 095301 (2017)]. Here we extend the angulon theory to the case of molecules possessing an additional spin-1/2 degree of freedom and study the behavior of the system in the presence of a static magnetic field. We show that exchange of angular momentum between the molecule and the solvent can be altered by the field, even though the solvent itself is non-magnetic. In particular, we demonstrate a possibility to control resonant emission of phonons with a given angular momentum using a magnetic field.